How do we understand the divergent pathways of immigrants and their children in school, work, social and political life? Why do some immigrant groups and their offspring appear to fare better than others? This course will address these questions with a comparative focus on the United States and Western Europe, drawing on the concepts of (segmented) assimilation and acculturation central to the sociology of migration. However, we will also extend the analytic lens from the receiving country to the sending country as well, incorporating insights from the economics of migration and development literature to consider the role of immigrant selection and origin effects in explaining second generation outcomes. The central readings for the course will be work on the USA, including selections from a forthcoming book I have co-authored with Roger Waldinger (UCLA) and Thomas Soehl (McGill University). The US focused work will be accompanied by literature on the children of immigrants in Western Europe.
There is no prerequisite for this course. However, I am a quantitative sociologist and many of the readings assigned assume a basic understanding of quantitative methods. Students from any social science discipline may be interested in this course, as the study of migration and its consequences cuts across sociology, economics, demography and political science.
AIms
• Knowledge of the social position and intergenerational mobility patterns of major immigrant groups in the USA and Western Europe.
• Familiarity with the major theoretical perspectives on immigrant integration
• Practice discussing and evaluating theoretical perspectives with empirical data on socioeconomic, social, and political outcomes of the children of immigrants
• Familiarity with emerging trends in the discipline, notably attention to sending country context and the role of selection on immigrant intra- and inter-generational mobility
There is no prerequisite for this course. However, I am a quantitative sociologist and many of the readings assigned assume a basic understanding of quantitative methods. Students from any social science discipline may be interested in this course, as the study of migration and its consequences cuts across sociology, economics, demography and political science.
AIms
• Knowledge of the social position and intergenerational mobility patterns of major immigrant groups in the USA and Western Europe.
• Familiarity with the major theoretical perspectives on immigrant integration
• Practice discussing and evaluating theoretical perspectives with empirical data on socioeconomic, social, and political outcomes of the children of immigrants
• Familiarity with emerging trends in the discipline, notably attention to sending country context and the role of selection on immigrant intra- and inter-generational mobility
- Module Supervisor: Renee Luthra